The Kegavator facilitates unloading kegs from delivery trucks more safely than the traditional brute force method, says co-creator 1 Stop Material Handling, North Easton, Mass. Using patent-pending Levelizer technology, the Kegavator gradually lowers the keg from the delivery truck, making the entire process seamless, quick and easy for the driver and preventing dropped and damaged kegs, it says. The Kegavator fits into most beverage trucks and eliminates the need for keg shuffle by allowing the operator to select from any of the eight easily visible keg options, as opposed to the typical four, without having to remove others to select the keg of choice. This innovation prevents operators from having to face potential injury from shuffling around 160-pound kegs to find the correct SKU, it adds.

Without using electricity, hydraulics or air, the Kegavator ergonomically assists delivery drivers to select and remove kegs from the truck. Because the system uses constant force springs to move kegs, the Kegavator can be a completely green solution for delivery trucks, the company says.

The Kegavator was developed by Carl Stover, owner of Diverse Manufacturing Solutions (DMS), Delaware, Ohio, in conjunction with Peter Murphy, chief executive officer of 1 Stop Material Handling, as a solution to an age-old problem for beer distributors.

 “In today’s technique of loading, the trucks [can carry] several varieties of beer,” Stover says. “If they need to find a microbrew container, now they can see it on the rack, lower it, and take it off without hunting and searching … Now they have selectivity.”

Steve Hollander, executive vice president of Hartford Distributors (HDI), Manchester, Conn., presented the costly problem of drivers being injured while delivering kegs to Murphy. Hollander had been searching for a solution for years with no satisfactory results. The Kegavator was thoroughly beta tested at HDI to ensure its full capacity to protect drivers.

 “If we prevent one injury during the lifetime use of the Kegavator, the Kegavator is free,” Hollander says.

Investing in the Kegavator for the infrastructure of a company and the health of its employees is not only an ergonomic solution but an economical one as well, the company says.

• 1 Stop Material Handling Inc., 50 Oliver St., Suite 211, North Easton, Mass. 02356; 508/230-5794; 1stopmaterialhandling.com.